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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27397264">Not a Clockwork Romance</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bittereloquence/pseuds/Bittereloquence'>Bittereloquence</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Turning of the Page [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Star Wars Fusion, F/M, M/M, Medical Inaccuracies, No Beta We Die Like Clones, Terrible communications skills, The Author Regrets Everything, alternate universe-modern au, fuckbuddies to something more</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 20:35:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,942</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27397264</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bittereloquence/pseuds/Bittereloquence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“We <i>really</i> need to stop meeting like this.” Fox stated flatly as he planted both hands on his hips and glowered at a very unrepentant looking Quinlan Vos. The damned fool was currently seated on the ground, bound up in an impressive amount of chains wrapped around the statue that Vos and the rest of his cultural nutjobs were currently trying to protest the removal of. </p><p>Quinlan just gifted him with a lazy looking smile and Fox had a flash of sense-memory of that time the other man had convinced him to put his handcuffs to bad use in the bedroom. The cocky bastard had looked just as smug then too. In point of fact, Fox strongly suspected Vos was remembering that exact same scenario because his smile melted into something decidedly more suggestive and intimate.</p><p>“Looking good there, Fox. You know I can’t resist a man in uniform.”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aayla Secura &amp; Quinlan Vos, CC-1010 | Fox/Quinlan Vos, CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi, CC-5052 | Bly/Aayla Secura</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Turning of the Page [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2001472</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>193</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Here is the Vox fic I've been promising for what feels like months now. It takes place in the same universe as my previous modern AU 'It only knocks twice' fic. I'm apparently not done playing in this sandbox. It's my first time really writing these two, I dunno how effective I was at conveying it but hopefully I didn't make a complete mess of their characterizations. As always seems to be the case with my fics, this got longer than I originally planned so I'm breaking it up over 3 parts. It is fully written though still in need of editing so I will get the other two up when I can. I'm right smack in the middle of the busiest part of the year at my job so it's totally wiped out my creative drive and left me in a pretty nasty funk so be patient with me. It will get posted I just am not going to add any additional stress to my plate by setting myself up on any set posting schedule, sorry in advance. As always, I'm over on <a href="bylightofdawn.tumblr.com">tumblr</a> and would love to chat with people about Star Wars so feel free to hit me up over there.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“We <i>really</i> need to stop meeting like this.” Fox stated flatly as he planted both hands on his hips and glowered at a very unrepentant looking Quinlan Vos. The damned fool was currently seated on the ground, bound up in an impressive amount of chains wrapped around the statue that Vos and the rest of his cultural nutjobs were currently trying to protest the removal of. </p><p>Quinlan just gifted him with a lazy looking smile and Fox had a flash of sense-memory of that time the other man had convinced him to put his handcuffs to bad use in the bedroom. The cocky bastard had looked just as smug then too. In point of fact, Fox strongly suspected Vos was remembering that exact same scenario because his smile melted into something decidedly more suggestive and intimate.</p><p>“Looking good there, Fox. You know I can’t resist a man in uniform.” The dark-skinned man purred suggestively and the words went directly to the pit of Fox’s stomach. Because he remembered waking up this morning to Quinlan lightly stroking his fingers along the length of his arm. </p><p>They’d lazed about in bed languidly screwing for a good half hour before Fox had been forced to get up so he could get ready for his day. The kriffer had <i>watched</i> him get dressed in said uniform but apparently hadn’t felt the need to warn Fox that he was going to throw a gigantic spanner in Fox’s entire day by staging his little sit-in. The bastard, Little <i>Gods</i> why did he keep giving this infuriating man even a nano-second of his time? </p><p>Because he was a phenomenal lay, the primal hind-brain part of his mind helpfully pointed out. The past year had been a year of really good sex, he did have to admit to himself if nothing else. Quinlan Vos was an infuriating man but Fox had discovered his favorite way to shut the man up was to attack him with his mouth which inevitably leads to them falling back into bed for yet more mind-blowing sex. Apparently, it was enough for him to overlook the more...questionable aspects of Quinlan Vos’s personality. </p><p>Like the fact he enjoyed being a gigantic pain in his professional ass. </p><p>“Cute, you do realize I’m going to have to arrest you and these poor idiots you’ve managed to brainwash into listening to your radical ideals, right?”</p><p>“We’re not idiots! You’re the one who is a tool of a fascist government!” One of the college-age fools spoke up.</p><p>“<i>Padmé</i>, oh God, don’t make it worse.” The young man who sat next to the mouthy brunette shot his companion a pleading look. </p><p>“No, Anakin. I refuse to stand by while these people rip away the last vestiges of our cultural heritage.”</p><p>“Aren’t they planning on moving this to a museum?” Thire asked Fox sotto voce and the other man could only shrug to indicate he had no kriffing clue.</p><p>“This is it’s <i>home</i>. Our ancestors built this temple and now they want to bulldoze it all down to make way for a <i>strip mall.</i>” </p><p>“Padmé’s right, we can’t just keep destroying our past to make way for their so-called progress. Especially when the people who are profiting on this project are lining their pockets hand over fist.” Vos echoed her sentiments and it might as well have been a rallying cry for the half-dozen grad students because all of them sans the dismayed looking young man grew more resolved.</p><p>“Obi-Wan is gonna kill me” Anakin muttered to himself but he couldn’t even bury his face in his hands because he was handcuffed on either side by one of Padmé’s classmates who were attempting to make a human chain around one of the pillars.</p><p>“You lost your court case, Vos. The capital refuses to recognize any significant cultural heritage to this site so you are <i>all</i> trespassing.” </p><p>“And I refuse to recognize the decision of the senate, especially since it’s a dumbass one at that.” Quinlan shot back defiantly and Fox valiantly fought the urge to rub at his temples. He knew Thorn got a kick out of watching Vos wind him up so when he’d gotten the call while he and Thire had been finishing up their lunch that there was a public disturbance that needed his ‘special touch’ he should have realized it was his friend set him up,</p><p>Fox silently vowed to punch his soon to be ex-best friend right in the stomach when he saw him next. Somehow he’d gotten the reputation as someone who could actually <i>manage</i> a public menace like Quinlan Vos? That was a laughable idea if ever he heard one because there was no one would could <b>manage</b> the man. He was a law unto himself and constantly broke them with gleeful regularity.</p><p>How he hadn’t been dismissed from his post at the university was genuinely beyond Fox. </p><p>“Suit yourself, Thire. Let’s round them up.” </p><p>“You got it, boss.” Thire said with a grin as he brandished a set of bolt cutters. </p><p>“Please don’t add resisting arrest to your list of crimes today, gentlemen and ladies.”  Fox stated, addressing the motley crew of protesters. </p><p>“Aw, kriff, the damned media’s here now.” One of the rookies whose name Fox couldn’t quite recall muttered to himself and Fox felt his headache grow exponentially even as Quinlan grinned, visibly pleased with himself.</p><p>“You called them, didn’t you.” Fox growled at the other man who just smugly looked self-satisfied as he lounged against the base of the statue he was chained to.</p><p>“I don’t know what you could possibly mean, Commander. Or how watching you arrest me and a bunch of hard-working college students playing across the evening news could possibly raise awareness to the absolute banthashit decision the court made regarding this sacred and <i>very much</i> culturally important site.</p><p>“I. Hate. You.” </p><p>“No you don’t, you just hate that I uh….outfoxed you yet again, Commander.” This was said with a shit-eating grin that immediately had Fox’s blood-pressure skyrocketing.</p><p>Fox bit back a growl and reached out a hand towards Thire in a silent demand he surrenders the bolt cutters to him. The lieutenant looked like he was mildly worried Fox might brain Vos with the heavy tool but he handed it over to him without a word of protest.</p><p>“Go help with the mouthy brunette. And watch out, she’s a biter.” </p><p>That earned him a questioning look from Thire but thankfully, he didn’t press him on just <i>how</i> he knew that Padmé Amidala could get a little nippy.</p><p>“You know, if you wanted to see me in handcuffs again, you didn’t have to go to this much trouble, Fox.” Quinlan shamelessly flirted with him and Thire nearly tripped over his own damn feet when he caught the tail-end of that conversation. Fox didn’t need to look at the other man to see the way he was visibly going red, he could see the color crawl up the man’s neck from behind as he hurried away. </p><p>“Really, Vos?” Fox demanded as he shot the man an impatient look. “I thought I asked you to keep that <i>osik</i> out of our professional duties. You raise hell, I arrest you, absolutely no one else has to know what we do behind closed doors. That was the deal.”</p><p>Quinlan’s flirty expression wavered as something strange and vaguely troubled flit across the man’s face. “Maybe I want to renegotiate the deal, huh?”</p><p>“And this is how you want to go about doing it? You couldn’t have given me a little heads up you were planning on making my afternoon a complete shitshow?” </p><p>“If I’d told you, you would have tried to stop me.” The other man shot back with a stubborn look. “Think of it as plausible deniability. This way no one has to know the commander of the RG is doing anything untoward like knocking boots with a rabble-rouser like yours truly.”</p><p>“Commander Fett! Do you have a statement about why the Republic Guard is arresting these people?” Of course, Quinlan would manage to find some left-leaning liberal media outlet to sic on him, the kriffing son of a bantha-karker. </p><p>“Ma’am, I am simply performing my duty. These people are unlawfully trespassing, as are you I might point out. So, I am going to have to ask you to step back out onto the street.” </p><p>The reporter looked both surprised and affronted that he would say that but Fox grimly knew she would crater rather than risk getting caught up in this nerf-rodeo. He continued to cut through the chains wrapped around Quinlan and each broken length rattled as it landed on the ground. </p><p>Thankfully, after a few moments of hesitation, the reporter and her cameraman backed up off the construction site to no doubt run their mouths about how the RG was over-extending its reach or some other <i>osik</i>. </p><p>“You know, you don’t have to arrest my students. Can’t you let them off with a warning, Fox?”</p><p>“You mean like I did the last two times? No, if they want to keep chasing you into the fire, they can get burnt with you. Maybe some time cooling their heels in lockdown will knock some sense into their thick skulls.”</p><p>“You really can be a bastard at times, you know that?” Vos finally stated bitterly and he looked away as the last chains were cut away.?</p><p>“I'm aware,” Fox agreed and pretended that statement didn’t send darts of pain directly into his heart. But at the end of the day, Quinlan knew what he’d started the moment he chained himself to this stupid statue and he’d willfully lead his students into the fray. Fox had his duty to uphold the laws of the Republic and peace to maintain. </p><p>That being said, he technically could hold Vos’s unruly students for twenty-four hours before he had to either charge them or let them go. Depending on how they reacted he’d either write them a citation for trespassing or opt to charge them for public disturbance. Hopefully Little Miss Nippy decided to behave herself. </p><p>“Get up.” Fox wanted to reach out a hand to his lover and help him up but thanks to the fact the damned media was here, he had to maintain all appearances of integrity so he waited until Quinlan climbed limberly to his feet and stepped in to gently tug his hands back behind his back so he could cuff him. “If you hadn’t started a media shitshow, maybe I could have let them off with a warning but the Chancellor is breathing down my neck as it is about your little publicity stunts as it is so now we’re both going to have to live with the consequences.” </p><p>He practically whispered the words so no one else could overhear them. Fox laid a hand on Quinlan’s broad shoulder and nudged him in the direction of the entrance to the construction site. He willfully ignored the reporter and her crew as he led the man to his cruiser and yanked the door open. “Watch your head.” </p><p>Fox cautioned and dropped his hand on top of Quinlan’s head so he didn’t bump it on the doorframe as he ducked down. The familiar texture of the other man’s dreads under his fingers brought to mind more memories of this morning and how they had tickled his skin as Vos had bent over him as he’d lazily screwed him boneless into the mattress. Neither one of them had any strong preferences about who did the topping in their relationship and both traded off pretty equally. Fox had just felt particularly lazy this morning and had enjoyed the languid slide of Quinlan’s body against his as they kissed. </p><p>Now, he wondered just how they’d gone from exchanging laughing kisses to…this. Vos was radiating an icy sort of silence that didn’t bode well for his future but Fox willed himself to shelve his own personal <i>osik</i> as he closed the door firmly and turned on his heel to help Thire with the students. </p><p>He ended up with the nervy looking brunette named Anakin in his car and Fox shot a look at the man from his rear-view mirror. “You look familiar, have we met before?” </p><p>“Uhh I’m Anakin Skywalker…your cousin Cody is dating my brother.” </p><p>“Right! We met at Kyrimorut.” Fox hadn’t expected to run into his cousin at the popular Mandalorian restaurant run by Atin and Laseema Skirata, one of the many sons of Kal Skirata who’d opted to open up a restaurant that catered to various <i>Mando’ade</i> ex-pats. Fox went there whenever he was feeling especially homesick and wanted a taste of a home-spun meal and to just bury himself in the language of his youth. Sure, he’d known Cody was in the country working out of some nearby base but he certainly hadn’t expected to come across his erstwhile cousin with his new boyfriend in tow along with his two adopted siblings.</p><p>He’d met Obi-Wan Kenobi over a decade before but hadn’t really thought about the man for years outside of hearing some family gossip about the two of them dating. </p><p>“I’m sure your brother is going to be pleased about this.” </p><p>“Ugh, don’t remind me.” Anakin groaned.</p><p>“Leave him alone, Fox. The kid was only here because he was trying to support his girlfriend.” Quinlan grumbled at him from the backseat.</p><p>“That’s not true, Professor Vos! I really do care about....history and stuff.” The younger man just sort of ran out of steam midway through and against his will, Fox found his eyes drifting to the rear-view mirror again so he could seek out Quinlan’s. </p><p>The dark-haired man was fighting back a smile and his eyes briefly caught Fox’s in the mirror before he seemed to remember he was pissed at him and his gaze darted elsewhere.</p><p>“There are better ways of supporting your girlfriend, kid. Like bailing her out when she gets into trouble with that one.” Fox blandly stated as he pulled out onto the road and started towards the station. The rest of the car ride was blissfully silent, something Fox counted as a bonus because the last thing he wanted to do was get in a fight with Vos in front of someone who could potentially inform his busy-body cousin all about his dirty laundry being aired for all to consume. Cody was too much of a bastard to never let him live that down. </p><p>“I see things went about as smoothly as I could have hoped for.” Thorn couldn’t help himself apparently and Fox shot his friend a dark look as he escorted Quinlan and Anakin past the man’s desk and in the direction of the holding cell. His look promised dire consequences for the other man once he was finished with Vos and Skywalker. </p><p>Fox had no idea if Thorn and some of his other compatriots in the Guard knew what he and Quinlan got up to in their off-hours. Gods knew they certainly liked to tease him about the man almost constantly. But he had no idea just how effective the two of them had been about hiding their relationship from the rest of the RG. That was a future possibility Fox just wasn’t emotionally prepared to face at the moment. </p><p>That was up there with his family finding out because if he thought his coworkers were obnoxious about his lovelife, they had absolutely <i>nothing</i> on his bastard of a brother. </p><p>“What’s your brother’s number, kid?” Fox asked as he opened the cell door so the two could step inside. </p><p>“What? Why, I thought I got one phone call?”</p><p>“You haven’t technically been processed yet so you’re not entitled to a phone call.” Fox stared at the brunette as though mentally willing the idiot to catch his less than subtle drift. Judging by the way Quinlan was eyeing him narrowly, the other man got it. </p><p>“Just….give it to him, Anakin. Who knows how long you’ll be stuck here waiting around for them to process things. The RG is remarkably slow-moving at times.” Vos finally grumbled and Fox pinned him with an exasperated look. </p><p>With some reluctance, the younger man recited the number which Fox jotted down.</p><p> And because Quinlan was being a dick, Fox didn’t bother to extend the same courtesy to him. That and he had both Aayla and Tholme’s numbers saved in his phone so he already knew who to contact about his wayward lover. Fox was still puzzling over just what he was going to do about the man when Thire arrived with a pissed-off looking Padmé in tow. She ended up in the holding cell with a couple of female drunks sleeping off their D&amp;D’s and a pair of prostitutes that had been rounded up the night before. </p><p>Skywalker was less than pleased by this and vocalized his opinion about it loudly but Fox had developed the ability to tune out all manner of banthashit. </p><p>“Looks like you have all your fingers still intact.” He teased Thire as they both headed out of the holding area.</p><p>“No, she just ranted at me the entire time about how we’re terrible people and unwitting tools of the government.” Thire grumbled. “Pretty sure I’m deaf in one ear. I think I would have taken the biting over the ranting.”</p><p>“She’s a bit of a firebrand. Must be why she and Vos get along so well.” </p><p>“Next time, you can take her in and I’ll take Vos.”</p><p>“Not a chance,” Fox snorted and clapped a fond hand on the younger man’s shoulder before he broke off to head for his desk. He waited forty-five minutes before he started making calls to various contacts of the half dozen grad students telling them to come to pick them up at the station. </p><p>That was enough time to process the paperwork on the various citations for trespassing. </p><p>He tried Tholme’s number but it went directly to voicemail so he left a message asking the man to call back. His next option would have been to call Aayla next but she was just about ready to go into labor any day now and the very last thing he wanted was to raise her blood pressure. </p><p>Little Gods, Bly would kill him if something happened to his wife so he opted to circle back to the matter of Quinlan Vos and tried the number Skywalker had given him for his brother. </p><p>The phone rang for a long time and Fox was just preparing himself to deal with yet another voicemail when the line was picked up abruptly and a man’s slightly breathless voice answered. </p><p>“Hello?” It didn’t sound like your typical Coruscanti accent which Fox had grown used to hearing over the years and he knew for a fact Obi-Wan Kenobi had grown up on Coruscant. This sounded more like one of his cousins or at least someone from Mandalore.</p><p>“Uhh...hi, I”m trying to reach Obi-Wan Kenobi?”</p><p>“He’s in the shower right now, can I help you with something?” </p><p>“It’s regarding his brother Anakin Skywalker.” The more the man talked the more Fox had the sneaking suspicion he was talking to Cody. </p><p>“Fierfek, hang on.” Yeah, that definitely sounded like Cody and was tempting as it was to tease his cousin about answering his boyfriend’s phone, Fox had to maintain some professionality. “Obi-Wan?”</p><p>“Was it that Bly after all?” Fox could just barely hear the sound of water running in the background that barely audible question as the water cut off. </p><p>“No, something is up with Anakin though.”</p><p>“Oh dear. Hello?” It was obvious the two had traded off the phone.</p><p>“Yes, I’m Commander Fett of the Republic Guard, I’m calling in regards to your brother, Anakin Skywalker? He’s not hurt or anything but there has been some trouble.” Fox tacked that last bit on quickly before the other man could start freaking out. Getting random calls from the RG about loved ones rarely ended happily.</p><p>“...just what sort of trouble? I thought he and Padmé were going to some kind of poly-sci meeting?” </p><p>“They were trespassing on private property during a political demonstration.”</p><p>“<i>Anakin</i>. Ugh, thank you, Commander. You're Fox, right? We met last month at Kyrimorut.”</p><p>"Wait, <i>Fox!?</i> What happened?" He could hear Cody demand in the background and fought back a smirk.</p><p>"I remember. He's not under arrest at the moment but we will have to issue a citation. Hopefully, he won't go trying to chain himself to public property after cooling his heels for a couple of hours."</p><p>"Public...property...right, by any chance, was Quinlan Vos involved in this little 'political demonstration' by any wild chance?" </p><p>Fox could hear the exasperated frustration in Kenobi's. "I take it you are familiar with Professor Vos's propensity for public disorderly behavior?"</p><p>"I knew Anakin taking his class was a mistake. Thank you, Fox, I will be down there immediately to collect Anakin."</p><p>"Take your time, a cooling-off period might be what he needs to get his head screwed back on straight, Kenobi."</p><p>"I appreciate your optimism, Fox, but when there is a pretty girl involved, all common sense goes out the window."</p><p>"There is that," Fox agreed blandly, now losing his battle to control his smirk as he ended the call. He turned his attention to finishing up the citation paperwork and plotting an act of adequate revenge on Thorn for wasting his time.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here is chapter 2, I will try and get chapter 3 up in the next couple of days but again, work and RL stress is stretching me in two dozen different directions so please be patient with me. As always, please come shout at me over on <a href="https://bylightofdawn.tumblr.com/">tumblr </a> about this or any of my other fics. I promise I don't bite without permission. :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The sound of a commotion up near the front desk drew him out of his reverie.</p><p>"Ma'am, I'm sorry you can't go back there. If you would just sit down and wait your turn."</p><p>"Nonsense, I must speak with Fox and there is no way I am getting back out of that chair without the aid of a crane." </p><p>Fox recognized that sharp, accented voice and knew he was in deep Bantha poodoo. The urge to lay his head down on his desk and just pretend he wasn't here was almost overpowering but he also knew good desk sergeants were hard to come by and this one was showing some promise. She didn't deserve to be eaten alive by Aayla Secura-Fett so Fox shoved his way away from his desk and went to face the irate Twi'lek. </p><p>He exchanged a wordless look with a stressed out Bly who was doing his best to soothe his wife's ruffled feathers.</p><p>Even nine months pregnant and spitting mad, Aayla was still breathtakingly beautiful and caught more than one look from people in the precinct. Fox just hoped she left a few scraps of skin on his body after she verbally eviscerated him. </p><p>"Aayla, come on back, why don't you?" Fox greeted her tiredly as he held open the door for her and Bly. "What the kriff, Bly?"  He hissed at his cousin as she swanned past him, all offended dignity. "I thought the doctor said to take it easy?"</p><p>"What did you expect when you arrested Vos?" Bly hissed back at him. </p><p>"And you did not even have the common courtesy to call me either. I had to find out about it from Agen." Aayla practically spat the words. Fox knew for a fact that she was all too aware of him and Quinlan sleeping together considering she'd accidentally walked in on them almost seven months ago. He just wanted to get her someplace more private before she turned on him but his luck didn't hold out.</p><p>"How could you, Fox?"</p><p>"He broke the law, Aayla. He was asked repeatedly to vacate the premises but instead chained himself to a statue to make a point. Worse yet, he dragged his students onto an active construction site. I had to bring him in before someone got hurt."</p><p>"Bah! There was no one working, I already saw the video." Aayla scoffed, automatically dismissing his words. She looked like she was about to say something further when she gasped and went pale as she wrapped her hands around her belly.</p><p>"Aayla!" Bly went ashen himself and pushed Fox out of the way so he could wrap an arm around his wife. "I told you this was a bad idea."</p><p>"It is fine, just...Brax...those false contractions. They have been going on for days, you know this." </p><p>"Look, please sit down and I'll get Quinlan." Fox said, yanking an anxious hand through his hair. He felt distinctly unprepared to deal with the heavily pregnant woman and eagerly took the coward's way out and retreated into the back and the holding cells. </p><p>He probably should have felt slightly bad for abandoning Bly but he wasn't going to lose any sleep over it. </p><p>"Vos, Aayla is here to pick your ass up."</p><p>"Fox, that the HELL!? She's nine months pregnant and supposed to be under bed rest orders!" It was rare to see Quinlan Vos lose his temper but he could be surprisingly protective of Aayla. Fox didn't understand what their history was exactly but he knew that Vos had been either her TA or maybe her teacher but these days they were thick as thieves and she was more like his baby sister. He did not envy Bly having to deal with the likes of Quinlan Vos as his pseudo-brother-in-law and no doubt being a pain in his ass continually in their relationship.</p><p>Though to be fair, Vos was a pain in <i>his ass</i> as well. And not just the good kind of pain either as today was clearly demonstrating. </p><p>"I'm not an idiot, Quin. I didn't call her but she found out somehow and came storming the proverbial castle to save you. So why don’t you get a move on it and help Bly get her home as soon as possible, huh?” Fox snapped right back at him and that seemed to take some of the wind right out of Quinlan’s sails. He looked away guiltily. </p><p>“Look, sorry guys, but I need to cut out.” Vos finally said apologizing to the four other students waiting in the holding cells.</p><p>“We get it, Professor Vos, go take care of Ms. Aayla.” One of them reassured the man with a sympathetic look on his face. Apparently, they all knew her and her unique situation. </p><p>Fox opened the cell for Quinlan and fell into step just one step behind him as the dark-haired man hurried down the hall towards the bullpen. </p><p>Bly looked at the two of them with a decidedly judgemental, pinched-lipped look that conveyed how displeased he was with the both of them without saying a word. </p><p>To his credit, Vos looked guilty as he approached but that didn't seem to make a dent in Bly's judgemental outrage. "Aayla, you are supposed to be at home in bed." Quinlan said with a sigh as he crouched down in front of the woman who had settled down in an armless chair that didn't squeeze her too tightly. </p><p>"And you shouldn't have gotten arrested, dumbass." She snorted and granted her former teacher an imperious look. "Tholme is out of town, I wasn't going to let you rot in jail like some...some criminal."</p><p>Fox wisely kept his mouth shut and tilted his head in the direction of the caf station in a silent bid to give the two of them some privacy. After a moment's hesitation, Bly leaned down and dropped a kiss to the top of Aayla's head. "I'm going to get some caf, would you like some tea?"</p><p>"I want caf but I will settle for some tea." Aayla said with a pout.</p><p>"Soon, <i>cyar'ika</i>." Bly assured her as a soft smile briefly touched his face.</p><p>"Do not think I won't hold you to that, Bly. The moment this little parasite is out of me I expect you to hand me the largest cup of caf you can find." Aayla demanded but the tender way she cradled her belly belayed her comment about their baby being a parasite. "You are lucky I already love you, you little pain in my ass." This was directed in the direction of her stomach.</p><p>"As soon as the doctor says it is safe for you to have." He countered sensibly which earned Bly a soft scoff of disapproval. </p><p>"Bah, you and your logic." She squeezed his hand briefly and turned her attention on her erstwhile friend. "And you, when are you going to learn, <i>sei nerra</i>?” Aayla asked softly as Fox and Bly moved out of earshot. </p><p>Fox wasn’t ashamed to admit he did briefly glance over his shoulder only to see Aayla looking at Vos with a sad, wistful look on her face as they talked. </p><p>“I’m sorry, Bly, I didn’t think she’d actually climb out of bed to come down here just to deal with that <i>di’kut</i>.” He apologized once they reached the station where the caf machine and a box of barely touched tea bags sat. </p><p>“He’s a pain in the <i>shebs</i> but Aayla loves him like a brother, so what can I do?” Bly sighed and poked through the selection of tea until he found a decaffeinated sachet that Aayla could drink. “When she gets an idea in her head, it’s practically impossible to get her to change course so you either go along with it or get dragged along behind her.” </p><p>“Still, I didn’t realize it would rile her up like that. The media showed up and things just turned into a <i>shabla</i> mess.”</p><p>“So...you arresting the guy you’ve been sleeping with for what? The better part of the year? Aren’t you worried that smacks of professional conflict of interest?” Bly asked, cutting immediately to the chase because he was a bastard like that. But Fox had to appreciate that no bantha-shit attitude mainly because he tended to pull the same thing himself.</p><p>“To be fair, when I got the call, I had no idea Vos was involved. That was a joke courtesy of one of my coworkers. I guess I’ve garnered a completely unfounded reputation of being able to handle him and  put up with his <i>osik</i>.”</p><p>“I don’t think your idea of handling him is quite the same one your coworkers have.”</p><p>“Kark you, Bly.” Fox said without any real venom in his voice and the <i>shabuir</i> had the gall to smirk at him as he poured himself a cup of caf. </p><p>“Seriously though, be careful, huh?” His cousin warned him as his expression grew more serious. “Quinlan Vos is a hot mess of a man.”</p><p>“Trust me, I know.” This talk was getting uncomfortably personal and Fox found himself shying away from actually sitting down and examining his relationship with Quinlan. It was so much easier to think of him as just a fun bedmate but he found himself feeling strangely out of sorts this afternoon. </p><p>Vos’s chilly silence earlier coupled with the flash of genuine protective anger at him as though <i>he</i> were the bad guy really got under his skin for some reason.</p><p>“Little Gods, this caf is terrible. How can you drink this sludge?” Bly complained as he made a face down at his paper cup. </p><p>“Taste? I wouldn’t know, I’m pretty sure I’ve melted off all my taste buds in part because of the <i>osik</i> they serve here.”</p><p>“Somehow this is even worse than what they used to serve us in the military and that is saying something.” </p><p>“Do you think we serve because they feed us good caf and pay us well, <i>vod</i>?” Fox drawled sarcastically.</p><p>“And here it was because I thought you got off on being bossy and ordering everyone around, Fox.” Bly snarked right back at him.</p><p>“That’s definitely an added perk to the job.” Fox’s expression was absolutely deadpan when he said that and it earned him an eye-roll from his cousin. Bly opened his mouth like he was about to say something equally sassy right back at him when Vos's cry of dismay shattered the friendly banter between them.</p><p>“Aayla!” Hearing Quinlan cry out his wife’s name immediately drew the man’s attention and he hurriedly tossed both cups down on the table before racing across the bullpen to reach Quinlan and Aayla. </p><p>The horrified look on Quinlan’s face as he looked up at Bly had dread crawling up the man’s spine. </p><p>“I think her water broke.” </p><p>“I’m okay,” Aayla reassured Bly wanly. “Maybe they weren’t fake contractions after all?” Her attempt at joking did little to reassure either Bly or Quinlan. </p><p>“Thire, call an ambulance,” Fox commanded smoothly as he clapped a hand on Bly’s shoulder. “She’ll be alright, Bly.”</p><p>“I-” For a moment, Fox was genuinely concerned his cousin was going to haul off and punch Quinlan because the angry look he sent the man’s way bordered on hateful. “You bastard, she wouldn’t even be here if it-”</p><p>“Bly!” Aayla sharply interjected and Fox physically placed himself between the two men.</p><p>“She would have gone into labor at home instead of here, <i>ner vod</i>. The baby is going to choose their own time so calm down and focus on what’s important, <i>tayli'bac</i>?”</p><p>“I’m sorry,” Poor Quinlan said, looking absolutely gutted with guilt. </p><p>“Save it.” Bly grit out and closed his eyes for a moment as he visibly pulled himself back together. “How long on the ambulance? We were planning on going to Mercy General. I need to call the doctor.” Bly said and dug out his phone so he could call the hospital. </p><p>“There is really no need for this. We have time, Bly, help me to the car.” Aayla pointed out a little testily and she started to try and lever herself back up and Fox stopped her with a gentle touch to the shoulder. </p><p>“I don’t think he should be driving right now, Aayla.” Fox countered gently. “I’m assuming you brought your go-bag?”</p><p>She shot him a mingled look of frustration and wry amusement. “Yes, we carry that damn thing everywhere.”</p><p>“Okay, I’ll make sure we grab it. We need to start timing the contractions, you’re probably right about there being time but better safe than sorry.” It was obvious this wasn’t the first time Fox had been in this situation and Aayla seemed to draw some strength from his calm energy because she nodded and pulled out her phone as well. </p><p>“I spoke with the L&amp;D nurse, she said the doctor will meet us there.” </p><p>“Good, let me have your keys. Vos, will you go get their bag?” </p><p>Quinlan’s head snapped up when Fox addressed him and the visibly distressed man looked over at him distractedly. “What?”</p><p>“They’ll have a bag in their car for what Aayla will need in the hospital, will you go get it?” Fox asked, knowing full-well it was busy work for the man but he looked like he needed the distraction, and the more space he could put between Bly and Quinlan Vos right now, the better. </p><p>Bly frowned at Fox but grimly dug out his keys from his pocket and held it out to Vos. “It’s in the trunk, don’t forget her pillow too.” </p><p>“I’ll get it.”</p><p>“Fox, EMT’s are in the building,” Thire called out from three desks over as he stood there with a phone cradled into the crook of his shoulder. </p><p>“That was quick, thanks, Thire.” He shot the other officer a tense-looking smile and clapped Quinlan on the shoulder. “Change of plans, Bly, we’ll follow in your car, that way you two don’t have to worry about transportation. Vos, you’re with me.” </p><p>The dark-skinned man shot him a miserable look and it was pretty obvious he wanted to protest and go with Aayla and Bly but Fox knew the EMT’s would kibosh that idea quickly. It was going to be chaotic enough in the ambulance with Bly there no doubt getting in their way. </p><p>“Keys?” Fox prompted gently as he held out his hand for the tradeoff and Quinlan dropped them into his palm before he turned back to Aayla who Bly was helping carefully to her feet. </p><p>“We’ll meet you at the hospital.” </p><p>“Sounds good, don’t let Fox ding up our car too bad in his haste.” Aayla teased as she stepped in to hug Vos as best she could with her belly though it ended up more like a side-hug than anything else.</p><p>“Hey!” Fox protested without any real heat. </p><p>“I’ve seen the way you RG types drive on the TV.”</p><p>“In television, that is hardly an accurate representation.” He felt the need to defend his fellow Republic Guardsmen and his protest earned him a mischievous looking smile from Aayla as the EMTs arrived with a gurney.</p><p>It took them less than a minute to get Aayla settled onto the gurney and started to wheel her out with Bly following them.</p><p>"Thire, can you call facilities maintenance?"</p><p>"Already done."</p><p>Fox felt a flash of warmth and pride at the effectiveness of the other Guardsman. "Thanks, Thire. I'll take care of all the paperwork when I get back." </p><p>Thire looked briefly startled because that was a <i>lot</i> of paperwork between Quinlan’s nebulously arrested and not arrested state plus the potential legal risks of having a pregnant woman quite literally go into labor in their station meant it was going to be a veritable mountain of paperwork that needed to be done. But Thire also wasn’t a fool who’d been born yesterday and if Fox wanted to take on that headache, more power to him.</p><p>“WIll do, boss. I’ll hold down the fort while you’re gone.” </p><p>“I appreciate it,” Fox said sincerely and nudged Quinlan in the shoulder lightly. “Shall we, Vos?” </p><p>“Yeah, lets.” It was obvious Quinlan’s mind was a million kilometers away and it didn’t take a mind reader for Fox to guess where his thoughts lay but he waited until they were out in the hallway where it was a little bit more private before he tried to engage the other man in conversation.</p><p>“She’s going to be alright.” </p><p>“It’s my fault; if something happens to her-”</p><p>“She is nine months pregnant, the baby was going to come any day now.” Fox pointed out and grabbed his lover by the wrist. “She’s going to be alright, Quin.”</p><p>“You don’t know that, Fox. The doctors told her she was supposed to take it easy. It’s my fault she got all riled up in the first place.” The misery in the other man’s voice was palpable and after a quick glance around to ensure no one was looking, Fox stepped in lightly caught Quinlan’s face between his hands so he could steer the man’s gaze back to meet his. </p><p>“Listen to me. Aayla is a grown woman who can and will make her own decisions. If you want to beat yourself up about it, I can’t stop you. But there are better uses of your time right now.”</p><p>Vos met his eyes miserably but Fox thought maybe his words had reached the other man because his expression morphed from guilt to annoyance and finally to something tiredly resigned. ‘You’re an asshole.” </p><p>The words lacked any real heat or accusation and Fox just smirked at him as he leaned in to briefly press his forehead against Quinlan’s in a tender <i>kov'nyn</i>. He doubted the man understood the significance of that gesture because they rarely talked about Fox’s Mandalorian heritage. </p><p>In point of fact, over the years he’d found himself slowly losing those pieces of himself in the name of assimilation into Coruscanti culture. Unless he was around one of his extended family members, the smattering of Mando in the Guard or one of the ex-pats who lived in the capital, he rarely spoke Mando’a or practiced his culture. He knew most members of his clan didn’t understand his choices to live here so far from home, surrounded by <i>aruetiise</i> who would never fully understand him. </p><p>Especially when he could have followed in the footsteps of <i>ba'buir</i> Jaster and become a Journeyman Protector like so many members of his clan had opted to do. But just like Fox and Wolffe’s parents were unusual and not your standard example of what a typical Mandalorians were, apparently their son had inherited enough of their rebellious spirit to forge his own path separate from the sometimes oppressively overwhelming pressures of his clan.</p><p>He knew Jango didn’t approve of his career paths but Fox had found an unexpected ally in  <i>ba'buir</i> Jaster of all people who’d supported his decisions fully. And Jaster’s opinion still held enough weight to shut even Jango up so Fox was allowed to pursue his own path in the Republic Guard in peace. </p><p>Quinlan’s fingers curled into folds of his uniform as he leaned into the <i>kov'nyn</i>. </p><p>“You wouldn’t have me any other way.” Fox teased gently and after a moment, he pulled back.</p><p>“True, but we both know I have terrible tastes and make terrible life choices.” Quinlan agreed and Fox was gratified to see a return of the man’s typical snarky humor. </p><p>“Yes, I am well aware of that rather unfortunate aspect of your personality.” Fox drawled, matching him sarcasm for sarcasm. “Now, come on, we’re wasting time.” </p><p>“Alright. Hey….thanks, Fox.” Quinlan said a little awkwardly as they started walking once again down the hallway towards the front entrance. “For everything, even being your typical asshole self.”</p><p>“I’ll remind you that you like me being an asshole the next time I really piss you off.” Fox teased and they’d very nearly made it to the doors when he spotted his cousin Cody step inside with a familiar-looking red-head at his side. “Kark me running, could this day get any worse?” Fox groaned under his breath. </p><p>“Fox? What’s going on? I could have sworn I saw Bly getting into an ambulance?” Cody called out to them as he spotted them. </p><p>“Aayla’s gone into labor, he’s accompanying her to the hospital. One of the <i>vode</i> can help you fetch your wayward <i>adi’ka</i> but Vos and I are on our way to the hospital as well.”</p><p>“That's fine. Quinlan, you and I are going to have a very <i>long</i> conversation when this is over with. I explicitly asked you to not let Anakin get into any trouble while in your class.” Obi-Wan put in with a narrow-eyed look at Vos and his tone said Quin wasn’t going to particularly enjoy that conversation. Vos just grimaced and held up his hands in surrender.</p><p>“You and lecture me later, Obi, Gotta go.” His hand closed around Fox’s wrist like an iron bar and he pulled the man out the door in a hurry to put some distance between them and the other two men. </p><p>“Wait, what hospital are they going to?” Cody asked and was thoroughly ignored by Fox and Vos and Obi-Wan laid a hand on his shoulder lightly. </p><p>“I know which hospital they were going to. Come on, let’s get Anakin.”</p><p>“We could leave the jailbird to stew for a couple of hours and really think about what he did wrong?” Cody pointed out blandly and the fact his sentiments were almost exactly the same as the one Fox had expressed earlier drew a laugh from the red-head.</p><p>“Your cousin said almost the exact same thing.”</p><p>“Ugh,” Cody made his disgust clear with a grimace. </p><p>“Maybe the two of you are more alike than you realize?” Obi-Wan couldn’t help but tease him and Cody mock-growled at him. </p><p>“I take offense to that statement.” </p><p>“Doesn’t make it any less true, dear.” The red-head pointed out as he leaned in to kiss Cody briefly. </p><p>“Shut your mouth, Kenobi.” Cody grumbled though that brief kiss did a lot to mollify him somewhat. </p><p>“And here I thought you liked my mouth,” Obi-Wan said with mock innocence but the gleam of mischief in his eyes gave him away. It also did a pretty remarkable job of distracting Cody from his outrage at being compared to his cousin as his brain helpfully provided him with plenty of memories as to why he was quite fond of that mouth indeed and the man currently teasing him horribly. </p><p>When Cody started to go pink from the ears down, Obi-Wan knew he’d won and laughed outright before reaching out to lace his fingers with his lover’s so he could tug him further into the building. “Come on, let’s go spring our jailbird, shall we?”</p><p>“Still say we should let him sit on his <i>shebs</i> and think about his life choices.” </p><p>“He’s an adult, Cody, it’s not like we can ground him.”</p><p>“Shhh don’t tell him that, you might be surprised.” Cody pointed out and squeezed Obi-Wan’s fingers affectionately. “Did you know Fox and Vos knew one another? They seemed kinda...chummy.”</p><p>“I’m pretty sure they’ve been dating for the better part of year so I’d certainly <i>hope</i> they were chummy.”</p><p>“Wait...<i>what</i>?!” Cody very nearly walked right into the doorway as he tried to wrap his brain around the idea of <i>Fox</i> of all people dating….well….<i>anyone</i>.</p><p>“What? I thought you knew?” That earned him a puzzled look from the other man. </p><p>“Not about <i>that</i>.”  </p><p>“Huh. Far be it for me to tell you how to deal with your cousin but maybe you two should talk a bit more? I didn’t think it was that big of a secret.” </p><p>“I’d rather take place in a live-fire exercise sans all body armor than talk to my cousin about his love life, thank you very much.” </p><p>“Suit yourself but you can’t really act so surprised if things between them escalate to something further.”</p><p>“I’m still trying to wrap my brain around anyone wanting to date that miserable <i>shabuir</i>. I knew Vos made terrible life choices but this might be the worst one he’s made yet.”</p><p>“I highly doubt Fox is <i>that</i> bad, Cody.” </p><p>“I dunno, you don’t know him as I do. Vos must be a bit touched in the head trying to date him.”</p><p>“Maybe so but if it works for them it works for them. ” Obi-Wan pointed out placidly and Cody could only shake his head in mystification. </p><p>"Maybe they're both touched in the head." </p><p>"That is also a distinct possibility, yes."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>There are a couple of random Mando'a words that are a little unusual and some...what I HOPE are accurate Ryl which I found on google and some random site<br/><b>Mando'a</b><br/><i>Ba'buir </i> -Grandparent, in this case grandfather since we're talking about Jaster Mereel.<br/><i>Kov'nyn</i> - Headbutt or touching foreheads two Mando do in armor, aka Keldabe Kiss<br/><i> Tayli'bac</i>- Understand? (It's used in a rather sharp, aggressive tone, in contrast, to say <i>suvarir</i><br/><i>Sei Nerra</i> - My brother in Ryl. Don't hold me to the possessive sei, that's what google and some random site tells me and they are NEVER wrong.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry for the delay, I managed to injure myself on Sunday and today has been the first time in literal days where I haven't been absolutely racked with aches and pain. Suffice it to say, I was not mentally clear enough to be capable of doing much of anything. There's prolly lots of mistakes in this chapter so apologizes ahead of time. Thank you to anyone who has commented or even left a kudo. I have other plans for this AU though it may take a little time because I have some other fics I want to work on. I tentatively plan on writing Boil comes home to stay fluff piece with Waxer and Numa next so if that interests you, keep an eye out for it. And as always, I can be found over on <a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/bylightofdawn">tumblr</a> reblogging gorgeous SW fanarts and screaming about my love of clones and other assorted SW minutae.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The silence in the car on the way to the hospital was almost oppressively heavy. Fox lasted all of five minutes before he felt the need to finally break it with an uncomfortable clearing of his throat and he slanted a look over at Quinlan who sagged miserably in his seat and stared out the window moodily.</p><p>“She’s going to be okay, Quin.” Fox reassured him again as he stopped at a red light. He took his free hand off the wheel and reached over to briefly squeeze Quinlan’s hand only to find it suddenly caught in a desperate grip that did more to convey Vos’s anxiety than his outward demeanor. </p><p>“You don’t know that.” The man bit out harshly.</p><p>“And you don’t know she won’t be either. Women give birth all the time and Aayla has access to some of the best medical care in the country. She is a healthy young woman, the odds are completely in her favor.” He stated bluntly as he met Quinlan’s gaze full-on. </p><p>“If you want to be upset with yourself for dragging her out of bed today to come spring you, fine, that’s your prerogative but she was going to have that kid either way. Today, tomorrow maybe next week. The baby was going to come either way and short of getting pissy with Bly or her for putting her in that state, you have to come to terms with that fact.”</p><p>“It’s a good thing you didn’t go into the medical field cause your bedside manner is atrocious.”</p><p>“You obviously haven’t met my cousin Kix if you think <i>I</i> have a surly bedside manner.” Fox countered and stroked his thumb against the back of Quinlan’s hand in a soothing arc over and over again. “I get that you’re worried Quin but it’s out of your hands at this point. You have to trust that she’s going to be okay.”</p><p>“How am I supposed to live with myself if something happens to her because she got all riled up and upset? The doctor said she was supposed to take it easy.”</p><p>“And you’re the one who forced her to come out today? That’s <i>osik</i>, Vos. She made the choice, yes you may have been a contributing factor and you’ll have to make peace with that with yourself and Bly but you didn’t force her to do anything against her will, nor can you control whatever medical complication she’s experiencing.”</p><p>“Gods damn it, Fox, it’s <i>not</i> that black and white.” Quinlan snapped with genuine anger behind his words. </p><p>“It is, you are just too emotionally invested in the situation to see that,” Fox said calmly in the face of that anger. “I get that you’re worried and I am not trying to downplay that worry. There’s always going to be an element of uncertainty in these sorts of things. But women have been giving birth for tens of thousands of years and Aayla has access to some of the best medical care on the planet. Chances are very much in her favor that she’ll be alright.” </p><p>Fox wasn’t exactly the emotionally warm and cuddly type but his ability to cut through the BS and get to the heart of a situation with ruthless logic and an almost laser-like focus had been one of the things that had initially intrigued Quinlan about the man. </p><p>It just sucked when he found himself on the receiving end of that same cold pragmatism and it stung a little. He wanted someone to hold his hand and assure him everything was going to be okay.</p><p>But in his own way, Fox was trying to support him so Vos couldn’t fault him for that. He was quite literally holding his hand and telling him everything would be alright just in his own brutally blunt manner. </p><p>The light turned green and Fox nudged the car forward with one hand on the wheel as he continued to stroke his thumb against the back of Quinlan’s hand in soothing half-circles. If Vos had been in a better headspace, he would have teased the man about his lackadaisical driving practices and how he was breaking all the rules in the beginner’s handbook about keeping both hands on the wheel of a moving vehicle. </p><p>The truth of the matter was, it felt nice and he didn’t want to let the man’s hand go so he was going to milk that affection for as long as he could. </p><p>Which is how they ended up spending the rest of the ride to the hospital with Fox driving one-handed while Quinlan looked out the window moodily and lapsed into a troubled silence. After a stunted, aborted attempt to draw Vos out of his silence, Fox didn’t try and press him any further. </p><p>Once they reached the hospital, Fox grabbed the bag from the trunk while Quinlan snagged the pillow and sort of clutched it to his chest. The Mandalorian wondered if his lover realized he did it perhaps somewhat like a surrogate for Aayla or if he just needed more comfort. He doubted Quinlan would appreciate him pointing that out to him though and wisely kept his mouth shut as they made their way inside and followed the signs towards the L&amp;D ward. </p><p>After the nurse verified they were cleared to be there she showed to Aayla’s room where she’d been placed as they waited for her labor to advance to the point where she was going to be moved into the delivery room. It was a bright, cheerfully painted room, no doubt made to try and put anxious mothers-to-be and their families at ease. Aayla was already settled into the bed wearing a hospital gown while Bly stood by her side trying to help her get comfortable as they were shown in. </p><p>The look Bly shot Quinlan’s way was decidedly cool but the man didn’t outright protest him being there so Vos somewhat awkwardly held out the pillow to him in a mute peace offering. </p><p>“Thanks.” Bly finally said after a moment’s hesitation and helped settle it under Aayla’s head.  </p><p>Fox had the sneaking suspicion she’d had a talk with her husband in the ambulance but he wasn’t going to complain because the awkward tension was getting old fast. “Where do you want a bag?” </p><p>“In the closet is fine for now, thanks, Fox.” Aayla said with a smile as she reached out to lace her fingers with Quinlan. She said something in Ryl but Fox only knew a handful of words in her native tongue though he caught the word for brother. </p><p>Whatever she’d said had seemed to put Vos at ease.  </p><p>So that was a win in Fox’s book and he quickly stowed the bag in question away and settled into the convertible couch to wait.  He knew enough about labor to recognize the fact they were going to be here a while and true to form it did take hours. </p><p>The nurses were all very attentive as were the staff who made sure Aayla’s every need was cared for. </p><p>“It’s sweet.” One of the orderlies declared out of the blue to Fox as she bustled around the room. </p><p>“I’m sorry?”</p><p>“How attentive and sweet they are to her. Some couples treat their poor surrogate like she’s just some nerf to be bred. Don’t even bother to show up for the delivery.” She tsked and Fox had to choke back a wholly inappropriate laugh because the poor woman had utterly misinterpreted the dynamic of Bly, Aayla, and Vos. Though, he supposed he couldn’t fault her too much considering Quinlan was doting on Aayla just as much as Bly was. </p><p>“They’re not a couple, the guy on the right is a close family friend who is practically Aayla’s older brother.” Fox debated just leaving her blissfully ignorant but the potential shitshow if she said that to say Bly would be spectacular but needlessly dramatic and Fox was completely over the idea of any more drama right now. </p><p>“Oh! I had no idea.” She went dull red with embarrassment and Fox just shrugged with an opaque little smile.  “I’ll just uh...get out of your hair then.” </p><p>“Thank you, ma’am.” Fox made sure to file that little tidbit away for later so he could tease Quinlan. He just knew better than to do it within earshot of Bly. He knew for fact back in the early days of his and Aayla’s relationship, his cousin had been a little insecure and concerned for the closeness shared by Vos and his girlfriend. </p><p>It was patently ridiculous in Fox’s eyes because it was pretty clear neither one of them had exhibited so much as a hint of interest in anything romantic between them. Thankfully, Bly had quickly gotten his head out of his ass and mostly made peace with the fact that Quinlan Vos was going to be a permanent fixture in Aayla’s life. Still, it would seem almost needlessly cruel to tease his cousin about such things, especially after the day he’d had and the fact that Quinlan Vos was not very high on his list of favorite people at the moment. </p><p>They may have put aside their differences for the day but there was no point in needlessly stirring up trouble. </p><p>And that was how the next few hours went with Fox working on paperwork on his tablet while waiting for Aayla’s contractions to increase in frequency to the point where they were going to move her to the delivery room. Eventually, a visibly drained Quinlan threw himself down onto the couch beside him with an audible sigh. He was trying to give the group of nurses who were conducting yet another exam on Aayla some privacy and space. </p><p>“You okay?”</p><p>“Yeah, just...tired. It’s been a long day.” Quinlan admitted softly. He sagged against Fox ever so slightly and let his head fall to rest on his lover’s shoulder. Fox felt a knee-jerk flash of unease at that show of intimacy but he knew for a fact that Aayla and Bly were all too aware of the fact they were sleeping together. </p><p>Still, he didn’t miss the accessing look his cousin slanted their way and the weight of his gaze felt especially heavy. But Fox didn’t try and put any more distance between them and suffered Quinlan’s head resting there on his shoulder as he tried to concentrate on the report he was filling out with little luck. As always, Quinlan Vos was a distraction even when he wasn’t actively trying to be one. </p><p>The nurses finished up with Aayla and after assuring her she still had a little bit left to go, they slipped out of the room and left the four of them alone. </p><p>Now, Aayla was looking their way too and the fond look on her face was unmistakable as she looked at the two of them. </p><p>“I still can’t believe the two of you are dating.” It was Bly who broke with silence with a hefty dose of wry amusement in his words. </p><p>That statement hit Fox out of nowhere like a ton of bricks. Dating? <i>Were</i> they dating? His instant knee-jerk reaction was scoff at the idea that they were but Fox was a man who made his living looking at clues and evidence. And when he stopped for a second and actually <i>considered</i> what Bly was saying he found himself questioning that assumption.</p><p>They’d been spending the majority of their nights together for the past six months, Fox hadn’t so much as looked at anyone else as potential bedmate for over a year but he’d simply chalked it up to being satisfied with what he and Quinlan had together. But considering he’d taken off of work in the middle of the day, was sitting there in a hospital room with Quin’s head on his shoulder because ...why? Because he felt like Quinlan needed that shoulder to lean on? That he needed him for emotional support?</p><p>That was hardly the kind of behavior you extended to someone who was just a fun, regular bedmate was it? Fox found himself puzzling over these facts and only belatedly realized he’d never answered Bly but Quinlan beat him to it as he sat there with his eyes closed. </p><p>“What can I say? I’m just that irresistible.” Vos drawled with a sly smirk and Fox rolled his eyes. </p><p>“Can I plead head-trauma?”</p><p>Quinlan cracked open his eyes and outright pouted at him pitifully, as though that was going to earn him any sympathy whatsoever. “You’re so mean to me.” </p><p>“We already established you made terrible life choices, apparently I fall into that category.” Kark him, had they just jumped from him low-key freaking out about dating to apparently making snarky comments at lightning-speed? Fox wanted to panic a little bit but honestly, like so many things with Quinlan Vos, nothing seemed to go in its normal, established path. The man was chaos personified so why should Fox expect dating him to be any different?</p><p>Still, if he thought about this for too long, he started to feel a flutter of panic building in his chest. Something in his teasing words didn’t sit well with Vos though because the humor bled from the man’s face as he sat up straight. </p><p>“Don’t say that.” He said, dead serious now. “I know we joke about terrible life choices but you’re not one of them.” </p><p>Fox was struck speechless momentarily by the impact of that statement and considering both Bly and Aayla had both gone just as quiet, he wasn’t the only one surprised. </p><p>“Quin, it was-” Whatever Fox had been about to say was cut off suddenly by Aayla’s sharp curse as another, sharper set of contractions started.</p><p>“<i>Szu’tak,</i>. Bly?” </p><p>“On it,” Bly said, already reaching for the call button. The nurses had told them to alert them the next time her contractions started and judging by the fact it took less than 30 seconds for them to swarm the room, they’d been close by.</p><p>“Okay, I think it’s time to get this show started.” The lead nurse declared cheerfully and they started to disconnect Aayla from the various wires and monitors so they could wheel the bed out the door. “Mr. Fett, are you staying or coming?”</p><p>Poor Bly looked a little gray underneath his naturally tanned skin as nerves set in once more. “Coming.” </p><p>Quinlan scrambled to his feet and hurried over to say goodbye to Aayla and pressed a fond kiss to her forehead. “I’ll see you on the other side, Aayla.” He said, visibly putting on a brave face before stepping back so he wasn’t underfoot as they finished prepping Aayla.</p><p>Fox remained seated on the couch and exchanged a nod with Bly as their farewell wasn’t nearly effusive. He smiled and waved at Aayla but he didn’t think she noticed thanks to the pained look on her face. </p><p>Once they left, Fox climbed to his feet and moved to sling his arm around Quinlan’s shoulders. “Come on, let’s get some grub.”</p><p>“I’m not hungry. Besides, I don’t want to miss them bringing them back.”</p><p>“Quin? It’s going to be at least an hour or two before they are done.” Besides, he knew the exercise would help Vos burn off some of the nervous energy no doubt coursing through him.</p><p>“But what if something…” The other man couldn’t bring himself to finish airing that thought aloud.</p><p>“They’re not going to stop what they are doing to tell us either. It’s out of our hands now. She looked good, the nurses said everything looked fine. She’ll be okay.” </p><p>It took some more coaxing but eventually, he convinced Vos to accompany him to the cafeteria. By this point, the dinner rush was long over and the food options were scant and somewhat unappealing even by hospital cafeteria standards. There were plenty of snacks that Fox stocked up on in case Bly finally felt like eating sometime later in the evening. </p><p>He could tell by the way Quin kept glancing at the door that there was little chance he could convince the other man to actually sit down and eat so they stuffed their food into a variety of plastic bags and left the cafeteria behind.</p><p>“Do you think the gift shop is still open?” Fox asked out of nowhere.</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>“Well, we didn’t stop on the way in. Isn’t it tradition to get new mothers flowers and babies cute little stuffed toys and that sort of <i>osik</i>?” He said as though he didn’t have a sea of female cousins but this was yet again a bid on his part to try and distract Quinlan.</p><p>“I….guess?” Vos said, fighting back a frown. It was obvious he wanted to head back up to the room but Fox’s own limited experience told him it would be a while and Quinlan was just going stew and simmer in his anxiety-riddled fears the whole time.</p><p>“Come on, we have time.” Fox urged, clapping his hand on the other man’s shoulder. “Do you know if they’re having a boy or a girl?” He probably should have felt a little bad for not knowing himself considering Bly was his cousin but he’d missed the baby shower due to working on a sting operation and they just...hadn’t really discussed that sort of thing in any real depth because despite living in the same city. Real-life and their respective jobs tended to make it so they only saw each other once every couple of months.</p><p>The sad fact of the matter was, Quinlan probably saw Bly and Aayla more than he did. </p><p>Vos held out for a few more seconds before letting out a quiet sigh of surrender. “A little girl, I don’t know if they settled on a name or not. And I get to pick out the toy.” Quinlan challenged with the barest twitch of a smile. </p><p>“Fine, you can pick.” At this point, Fox was going to take what he could get and the two of them made their way to the hospital gift shop where they wandered around examining the limited selection of outrageously overpriced gift options. It offended Fox’s generally frugal nature every time he glanced at a price tag, something Quinlan seemed to find endlessly amusing.</p><p>“I don’t know what you were expecting.” He teased and held up a stuffed porg for Fox’s approval. </p><p>“I didn’t expect to get extorted by blatant highway robbery?” Fox shrugged one should to indicate he didn’t particularly care for the porg so Quinlan put it down and continued to poke around the display. “I outta cite them for price-gouging.”</p><p>“It’s the most basic economic tactic in the world. When you have no other nearby competition, you can set your own prices.” </p><p>The RG commander bit back a sneer at that but for all his mock-grumbling, he wasn’t that upset and even held up a strange combination of some kind of creature that looked like a combination of a bird and maybe some kind of canine.</p><p>“That looks like it would give the baby nightmares. Ah!” Quinlan exclaimed and pulled out a furry white toy vulptex.</p><p>“No, absolutely not.” </p><p>“This is perfect. A stuffed fox from Uncle Fox.” </p><p>“Not on your life, Vos.”Said the so-called ‘Uncle Fox’ with offended dignity. </p><p>“Nope, this is the one. Look at its eyes, isn’t it cute?” Quinlan said, squeezing it briefly. “Maybe I’ll get one for myself so it can keep my company on those nights when you’re not with me.” </p><p>Fox actually groaned outright at that. “Please don’t joke about that.” </p><p>“What? I get lonely all alone in bed.” Quinlan pouted at him but there was a note of something that sounded suspiciously like truth in the man’s voice when he said that. </p><p>It was enough to draw Fox’s more serious gaze and he reached out to gently tug the toy out of Quin’s hands so he could turn it over in his own hands under the feigned excuse of examining it. He bristled when he saw the inflated price on the tag but had more pressing matters on his hands. Like the fact that he and Quinlan had stumbled once more into the sticky conversation regarding the seriousness of their relationship for the second time today.</p><p>Fox was finding it easier to reconcile himself to the idea they were in fact dating and not just long-term friends with benefits. The problem was, neither he nor Quinlan had ever tried to define just <i>what</i> they had and now he was finding they apparently had wildly differing views on their relationship. </p><p>“Are we to that point?” Fox finally asked quietly as he slanted a look at Quinlan before handing the stuffed toy back to him. </p><p>“What do you mean?” Vos asked with a puzzled look. </p><p>“Where we miss each other when the other isn’t there.”</p><p>That earned him a puzzled look from the other man and there was a hint of something that wasn’t quite hurt in Quin’s eyes but was definitely tinged with regret. “Is it so strange a thing to consider? That I would miss my lover when he’s gone?”</p><p>“No, but we never...we’ve never defined what this is between us.” Fox pointed out, making a gesture at the air between them as though to indicate the nebulous status of their relationship. </p><p>“We never needed to, did we?” Vos countered and carried the toy over towards the register. “Get some flowers too, would you?” He called over his shoulder, leaving Fox scrambling to pick out a bouquet which he didn’t give two flips for at the moment. But Quinlan had effectively derailed the conversation for now and with a grumble, the man just grabbed some flowers with sunny yellow flowers. </p><p>He vaguely recalled Bly mentioning Aayla liked gold...or maybe it had been blue, in which case he was karked. Quinlan just tiredly nodded his approval of the flowers so he chalked that up to the win category and they paid for their outrageously priced gifts and started to head back up to the room.</p><p>“Maybe we should define it.” Fox pressed a little more stubbornly as they stepped onto the elevator that would take them up to labor and delivery.</p><p>“Fox? Are you asking me to go steady with you? Cause it might be a day late and a credit short.” Quinlan teased but he couldn’t help but feel like the other man was deflecting yet again. </p><p>“You’re the one who called me your boyfriend, maybe I should be asking you that?” Fox challenged quietly and pinned Quinlan with a serious look. “I know I suck at picking up emotional cues,” He steadfastly refused to even acknowledge the look Quinlan shot him. “I don’t want to hurt because I’m operating on a different understanding of our relationship. And I feel like maybe I’ve misread things up until that point. So yeah, this is me asking you what do <i>you</i> want out of this relationship?”</p><p>Quinlan looked down at the toy rather than directly at Fox. “I don’t...I don’t know what we are.” He admitted softly, as a complicated series of emotions briefly flickered across his face. “I thought we were just having fun but we spend half our nights together. Kriff, you have a key to my place so I think it’s safe to say we’ve moved beyond just convenient fuckbuddies.”</p><p>“I think that is a pretty valid assertion.” He agreed and stepped closer to Quin so he could reach out and lightly tap him under the chin with the backs of two knuckles to encourage the man to look up at him. “I like you, I like spending time with you in and out of the bedroom. I’m not suggesting we dive directly into picking out curtains and moving in together but I am interested in making things a little more official if that’s something you want as well?” </p><p>Fox had assumed that panicky little flutter in his chest would have only gotten worse when he said that because he detested feeling vulnerable and opening himself up to potential emotional hurt. If Quinlan told him he wasn't interested in the same thing, that would hurt. A <i>lot</i> but he knew he’d get over it eventually.</p><p>Quinlan drew in a shaky sounding breath but smiled as he leaned in to kiss him briefly. “I want that too. Heh and I dunno, us going directly from fuckbuddies to going into a relationship assbackards? Sounds pretty much us to a tee.”</p><p>“Speak for yourself.” The other man sniffed as he pulled away from the kiss. “Of course, if we’re making this official, I guess poor Thorn is going to have to find someone else to go arrest you when you decide to go chain yourself to random monuments. It would be a pretty big ethical breach for me to be arresting my boyfriend.”</p><p>“Ah, the true reason you want to date me. So you can get out of the paperwork.”</p><p>“That is definitely a perk.”</p><p>“It’s okay, you can throw me in handcuffs anytime you want to in your off-hours, Fox.” Quinlan said with a shit-eating grin and Fox was silently grateful they were the only ones in the elevator. </p><p>“Little Gods, I take it back.” Fox groaned and scrubbed his hand down his face. “I don’t want to date you anymore.” </p><p>“Nope, too late. You’re stuck with me now.” An arm slid around his waist as the other man sidled up to his side. </p><p>“Kark me, I guess I am.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Please note there will be potential trigger warnings for pregnancy and a woman going into labor. I personally find the idea of childbirth highly uncomfortable and squicky so I won't be going into any great detail or even writing the actual birth. I am making shit up as I go along cause I just plain didn't want to do any of my typical in depth research so if I'm wildly wrong, I am sorry.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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